Oven door hinge assembly



July 8, 1969 c. w. AGEE OVEN DOOR'HINGE ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 26, 1967 'IIIIII'IIIIIIII 9 FIG. 3

FIG.'I

FlGm4 INVENTOR C l'gL ES W. GEE BY yaw-147 ATTpfiNEY United States Patent 3,453,996 OVEN DOOR HINGE ASSEMBLY Charles W. Agee, Manufacturers Road, Chattanooga, Tenn. (1241 Duane Road, Chattanooga, Tenn. 37405) Filed Sept. 26, 1967, Ser. No. 670,692 Int. Cl. F23c /02; F23m 7/00 US. Cl. 126191 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention In the manufacture of built-in ovens and free standing ranges which have a built-in appearance, there is a primary requirement of the American Gas Association regarding replacement of springs on the oven door. This requirement states that the owner or service man must be able to replace a broken spring without the necessity of removing the oven or range from the assembly of kitchen cabinets.

Very few manufacturers are complying with this requirement. Although an experienced factory representative can demonstrate that springs can be replaced in the above manner, the owner of the range or most service men will find it necessary to pull the oven out of the kitchen cabinets and remove the side panels of the oven to connect the spring from the oven hinge to a bracket somewhere inside the oven frame.

The principle feature of this invention is that the oven hinge, spring, and bracket to which the spring connects are assembled as one complete unit, from which the door can be readily removed and the unit can then be quickly removed from the oven for replacement of a spring.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an oven door hinge assembly made in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the assembly, showing part of an oven door frame member in place on a door supporting arm;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional detail view on the line 33 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional detail view on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

Description of the preferred embodiment The oven door hinge assembly generally indicated at 1 includes a plate 2 having holes 3 thereby by which the plate can be attached to the front of an oven with screws, bolts, or the like. A spring attachment bracket or channel 4 is attached to and extends inwardly of the oven from the plate. Near its inner end, the bracket may be provided with a plurality of spring adjustment holes 5, the holes providing a means for adjusting the tension on a spring connected between the bracket and the door to close the door and/or to counterbalance the weight of the door so that it can be put into a desired position and will remain there. Instead of the holes 5, the other means or points of attachment can be provided, such as notches, lugs, or fingers struck out of the metal, etc.

A hinge lug 6 is also fastened to the plate 2 and extends outwardly from it. A door supporting arm or lift-off arm 7 is pivotally attached to the hinge lug 6. Another arm 8 is pivotally attached to the door supporting arm 7 and extends inwardly therefrom past the plate 2. A roller 9 is supported by the plate, as by a lug 10 attached either directly to the plate or indirectly by attachment to the spring attachment bracket 4. As shown clearly in FIG. 4, the roller is grooved or slotted and one edge of the arm 8 is received in the groove of and supported by the roller.

Near the inner end of the arm 8, there is provided a means for attachment, such as a hole 11, of one end of a tension spring 12. The other end of the tension spring is connected to the spring attachment bracket 4, as by being hooked through one of the tension spring adjustment holes 5. When the spring is attached to the remotest hole, it is placed in maximum tension and the spring will cause the door to slam shut when the door is released. A position of attachment of the spring placing it in less tension wil cause it to counterbalance the weight of the door, so that the door will remain in any position to which it is moved. The tension on the spring holds the arm 8 in place in the roller 9.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there are provided in the lower surface of the roller engaging arm 8 a plurality of notches 13, 14 and 15 for engagement partially around theperiphery of the roller 9. Thus, when the roller 9 is engaged by the notch 13, the door supporting arm 7 is vertical and the door is held in its full closed position. When the notch 15 is engaged by the roller 9, the door is held in its fully open position. When the roller 9 is engaged by the intermediate notch 14, the door is held in its intermediate position shown in full lines in FIG. 2.

The arm 8 has, at its outer end, upper and lower points, corners or projections 16 and 17 thereon. When a door, not shown, is in position on the hinge assembly, a door frame member 18 is in place over the door supporting arm 7. The frame member is permanently fastened to the liner of the oven door and has on its inner side an opening 19 which extends from the bottom of the frame member upwardly enough to permit the frame member to be put in place over the arm 8 and the lug 6. The oven door itself, not shown, has a corresponding slot on its inner surface for the same purpose.

On its outer side, the frame member 18 has through it a shorter slot 20 through which one or the other of the points, corners or projections 16 or 17 can protrude, as shown in FIG. 3. It will be observed that, in the position illustrated in full lines in FIG. 2, with the arm 8 substantially normal to the door supporting arm 7 and the door frame member 18, neither of the points 16 or 17 projects through the slotted opening 20 and, accordingly, the door frame member 18 and the door to which it is attached can be lifted off the door supporting arm 7 or readily replaced thereon. When the door has been taken off, the screws or bolts passing through the holes 3 can be removed and the entire assembly quickly pulled out of the oven for replacement of a broken spring 12. On the other hand, when the door supporting arm is in any other position, for example the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 2, one or the other of the points 16 and 17 projects through the slot 20. This prevents inadvertent removal of the oven door when it is in any position other than that shown in full lines in FIG. 2.

It will be understood that two such oven door hinge assemblies will be used with each door, one at each side of the door.

Another advantage of this invention is that it permits the use of a live spring which is of lighter weight than the springs normally used. This advantage results from the fact that the spring in the present invention operates in a straight line direction, instead of following a curved path, as is true of the springs used on conventional door hinges.

I claim:

1. In an oven door hinge assembly, the combination of a plate for attachment to the front of the oven, a spring attachment bracket fixed to and extending inwardly from the plate, a hinge lug fastened to and extending outwardly from the plate, a door supporting arm pivotally attached to the hinge lug, a roller engaging arm pivotally attached near its outer end to the door supporting arm and extending inwardly past the plate, a grooved roller supported by the plate, one edge of the roller arm engaging the roller, a tension spring connected between the roller arm and the bracket, a door frame member removably engaging and being supported by the door supporting arm, the frame member having a slotted opening therethrough adjacent the outer end of the roller arm, the outer end of the roller arm having upper and lower points thereon, where- UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,264,059 11/1941 Weimer et al. 126-191 2,492,084 12/1949 Almquist 126-191 3,155,088 11/1964 Barber 126-191 10 3,304,932 2/1967 Gillom 126-194 KENNETH W. SPRAGUE, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

